Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 7 July 2011

 

In the Footsteps of St. Finbarre (Part 262)

Diving into History

 

Over the last number of weeks, I have been trying to attain more information on the Lee Baths and what happened to the car racing on the Carrigrohane Straight Road. Pat O’Brien rang me regarding the Lee Baths. He worked there from 1965 to 1969 whilst he was going to college in UCC. Pat’s father was Andy O’Brien, one of the early lifeguards at the baths. Pat noted:

 

“Andy O’Brien – my father aka the “Brown Bomber” would have been one of the early lifeguards and later head lifeguard at the Lee Baths shortly after it opened. His nickname came after the boxer Joe Lewis, who was known as the ‘brown bomber’ in America. My father’s lifeguard contemporaries would have been Bert Driscoll, Gerry Scanlon, Miles Higgins, Josh O’Brien and Annette Russell – all from Cork. My father as a lifeguard had many River Lee rescues to his name as at the time the River Lee and baths in summer time would have been very crowded with many adults and children. Consequently and unfortunately, there were a number of drownings.

           

My father ran the Lee Baths with military precision and the place was spotless. He was a well known sporting figure in Cork in the Thirties because of his prowess as a high board diver wining many cups and medals for high board and spring board diving at local and national diving championships in Ireland. Diving as a sport was quite popular in Europe in particular in Germany. My father loved the outdoor life and learned to swim himself. He had a natural ability. Apart from the Eglinton Baths there was a swimming area in the River Lee near the Lee Waterworks weir (just up from Kingsley Hotel)before the 1934 Lee Baths opened . The steps are still there.

 

My father hailed from Shandon Street where his family had a public house and shop at the bottom of Dominick Street. His diving adversary at the time would have been Eddie Heron form Dublin – these two guys were the Irish diving stars of the time. Andy was also a regular participant in the annual River Lee Swim.

 

Aside from his swimming, high board diving and water polo prowess he played rugby with Sundays Well and had a Munster Junior Cup medal for rugby (circa 1930’s) where he played as hooker. He was also an excellent gymnast wining prizes at many Feis Mathiú gymnastic displays in Cork. After he married Eileen Cogan (from Illen Villas Mardyke) they lived at Victoria Cross just opposite the Crow’s Nest. The house was originally built in 1879 as a toll house for tolling any farm produce coming into the city. The Superintendent of the English Market lived in the house before us. In the 1940’s my father joined the Ford Motor Company, Cork where he worked until he retired in 1972. He remained actively involved with swimming and diving coaching throughout his lifetime. He died in March 1989.”

 

Several weeks ago I had a few articles on the International Grand Prix held on the six mile Carrigrohane circuit in 1938. Pat recalls the motorcycle and car racing in the 1950s:

“I remember they put a grand stand in front of our house. I was about 4/5 years of age and my younger brother Andrew was about 2 and I remember the Red Cross nurse telling my mother to put cotton buds in his ears- the noise was too loud for his ear drums! I also remember later circa 1956 / 57 when it comes to racing cars the DKW, the German car, forerunner of the BMW was assembled in Ballincollig (near Lidl now).”

 

Alan Verso, a promoter, organiser and promoter of motor car racing in the southern region for many decades contacted me regarding the evolution of the motor car and motor cycle racing post the 1930s. Alan has collected a number of old brochures of the Munster Motor Cycle and Car Club. These relate that the World War II years stifled events in the late 1930s and early 1940s. It was only on the 17 July 1954, after a gap of 16 years, which saw the re-introduction of a fifty mile motor car race at the Carrigrohane circuit. On that day also was the handicap event for light weight motor cycles under 200cc (won by J. Fouhy, Cork) and the Handicap Munster “Hundred” (won by P.E. Whelan, Dublin), which incorporated the speed championship of Ireland for 350cc (won by F.M. Fox, Dublin) and 500cc machines (won by Louis Carter, Dublin). The Cork Examiner on Monday 19 July reported that Cork driver, W.L. Hennessy, driving a D.K.W., won the race.

 

The historic brochures in Alan’s possession also record that racing ceased on the Carrigrohane circuit in the late 1950s due to difficulties in closing the road due to more and more houses being built in the area and the potential for accidents. Subsequently, the motor cycle racing went to Vernon Mount whilst for motor car racing enthusiasts the Cork 20 was rebooted in Munster. The latter was and still is an international non-stop 20 hour race, which was an event rooted in the 1920s and 1930s and set up by the Cork District Motor Cycle and Car Club (now the Munster Car Club).

 

To be continued….

 

Captions:

 

598a. Andy O’Brien, the ‘Brown Bomber’, diving at the Lee Baths, 1934 (picture: O’Brien family)

 

598b. Motor cycles lining up on the Carrigrohane Circuit, 17 July 1954 (picture: Cork City Library)